Cardinals Activate Gregerson and Gyorko from Disabled List

photo: Jedd Gyorko (Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports)

St. Louis Cardinals press release

The St. Louis Cardinals announced prior to tonight’s game (Monday’s contest in Chicago was later postponed) that they have activated both right-handed pitcher Luke Gregerson (left hamstring strain) and infielder Jedd Gyorko (right hamstring strain) from the 10-day disabled list.  Right-handed pitcher Mike Mayers and infielder Yairo Muñoz were optioned to Memphis (AAA) following yesterday’s game.

Luke Gregerson

Gregerson, who began the season on the disabled list, will be making his Cardinals’ debut with his first game appearance after having been signed as a free-agent last December.  Gregerson appeared in four games for Palm Beach (A) during his injury rehabilitation assignment, the most recent on April 13, and worked 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing four hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

Jedd Gyorko

Gyorko appeared in three games with the Cardinals to begin the season, batting .500 (3-for-6) with one RBI.   He was placed on the 10-day disabled list on April 3.

Mike Mayers

Mayers earned a 3.0 inning save in the Cardinals win last Thursday (April 12) at Cincinnati after having been recalled that same day from Memphis.

Yairo Muñoz

Muñoz, a rookie, appeared in 11 games after having made the team out of Spring Training.


Brian Walton’s take

These moves were expected. For me, the follow-on questions become defensive.

How will Gregerson fit into the late inning mix, along with Bud Norris, Tyler Lyons, Dominic Leone, Jordan Hicks and soon-to-be closer Greg Holland?

How often will Gyorko start at third base? And when that does occur, will slumping Matt Carpenter slide over to second base to replace also-slumping Kolten Wong or sit out? With Jose Martinez having strengthened his every-day job, first base seems blocked for Carpenter, whose throwing would make his ideal position at first, as well.

Gyorko can also play second and first, though the Cardinals have not yet been inclined to deploy him at either spot on even a semi-regular basis. The 29-year old likely becomes the club’s best all-around option at the hot corner.

Memphis has played one pitcher short since last Thursday when Mayers was promoted, so his landing spot is covered. However, the club will also need to make a move with an infielder to accommodate Muñoz. Barring an undisclosed injury, the most likely candidate to leave Memphis’ active roster would appear to be Ramon Urias. The Mexican native opened the season with Springfield, but was moved up when Luke Voit went onto the Triple-A club’s disabled list on April 6.


Minor league news – Yepez tops in MWL
Peoria Chiefs release

The Midwest League and Minor League Baseball announced on Monday that Peoria Chiefs first baseman Juan Yepez was named MWL Player of the Week for April 5-15. He is the first Chiefs position player to win the award since Harrison Bader on August 24-31, 2015.

Juan Yepez

Through the first nine games of the season Yepez leads the MWL in batting average (.500), hits (15), triples (2), total bases (25) and RBI (11). He is second in the league in OBP (.543) and slugging (.833) and tied for third with six extra base hits. He has three doubles, two triples and a home run that was his first MWL grand slam.

Yepez has hit safely in all eight of his starts this season and the only game in which he did not get a hit was as a pinch-hitter in the 9th inning on Thursday against Cedar Rapids. So far this season he has tied a Chiefs franchise record with two triples in a game, hit a go-ahead grand slam in a Chiefs come-from-behind win and delivered a walk-off double in the snow.


For roster and player information

With the above moves, the Cardinals are down to four players on the disabled list – all pitchers. Alex Reyes is on the 60-day DL, while 10-day DL hurlers include Brett Cecil, Ryan Sherriff and Sam Tuivailala.

To see the full 2018 season-opening rosters by level and position for the entire Cardinals system on one page, along with every transaction all season long, check out the Roster Matrix, recently refreshed and always free at The Cardinal Nation.

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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.

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